He seeks the unpolished gem, the playground player who never moved past the asphalt or perhaps the college kid who was passed over by the pros. Chuck Bollweg runs a three-day tryout camp for the Continental Basketball Association in nine locations around the country, and last year 54 men paid $140 apiece for the Chicago session. The second annual Chicago camp begins Friday at the Columbus Park Gym, and though Chicago didn`t produce any prospects last year, Bollweg says: ``Every camp I hope to see a wealth of talent on the court. I try to be very honest with the players and tell them the CBA is very difficult to get into. It`s just a hairline below the NBA. A lot of players have told me the reason they attend these camps is to answer some questions for themselves. This lets them look in the mirror and say they`ve given it their best shot.`` CBA players who stepped up to the National Basketball Association include the Bulls` Jawann Oldham and former Bull Wes Matthews, San Antonio`s Jeff Cook and Utah`s Rickey Green. At a camp in Los Angeles last year, Bollweg discovered 6-foot-8-inch Bill Nelson from North Texas State. Nelson hadn`t even gotten a look-see from an NBA team, but as a rookie in the CBA he played opposite players drafted in the second and third rounds and led his team in rebounding. Says Bollweg, ``The CBA can seek out the diamond in the rough and turn it into a diamond.``

Shake down the rumors

Purdue`s humiliation of Notre Dame made the rumors inevitable, and so we made the obligatory phone call to the man atop or near the top of the Subway Alumni`s Wish List. Okay, former Philadelphia Eagles` coach Dick Vermeil, are you going to leave your job at CBS Sports and replace Gerry Faust next season? ``I know my name is being rumored there a lot, and I don`t know who started it. It began last year, and I felt so bad about it I wrote Gerry a personal note, apologizing. I felt bad for him. I have so much respect for the guys in the profession, and here he is battling his butt off to make them win--I know what a guy goes through to win. Now it`s starting again. I keep denying the rumor, but it seems the more you deny it, the more people talk about it. I don`t know what else to do. Believe me, no one`s contacted me about the job. I`ve never talked to anyone from Notre Dame except friends in Philadelphia who needle me about the rumors.`` Would you be interested in the job if it were offered? ``I doubt it. I doubt it. How do you know for sure? It`s such a monumental job, if that`s the right word. But right now I`d have to say no, I wouldn`t be interested. I like what I do. I`m trying to get better at what I do. And I really have no plans to go back into coaching. Evidently, some alumni started the rumor and it`s sort of flattering. But I really believe if I go back into coaching, I`d go back into the NFL. And right now, I really have no intention of going back in.``